AVROM KLEYN (ABRAHAM KLEIN)

AVROM KLEYN (ABRAHAM KLEIN) (October 6, 1905-May 17, 1976)

            He was born in Zablotov (Zabolotiv), Galicia.  He graduated from a Ukrainian high school in Kolomaye and in 1933 in medicine in Prague.  He spent the years 1941-1946 in the Soviet Union, later coming to Poland and in 1957 to Israel.  He debuted in print with translations of Ukrainian folk poetry in Literarishe bleter (Literary leaves) in 1936.  He published medical articles in: Folksgezunt (Public health) in Vilna, Sotsyale meditzin (Social medicine) in Warsaw, Folksgezunt in Paris, and in the medical section of Warsaw’s Folkstsaytung (People’s newspaper).  He placed humorous sketches, features, and articles in: Togblat (Daily newspaper) in Lemberg, Niderslezye (Lower Silesia) in Wrocław, Tsukunft (Future) in New York, Haynt (Today) in Montevideo, Der shpigl (The mirror) and Idishe tsaytung (Jewish newspaper) in Buenos Aires, and Yisroel shtime (Voice of Israel) in Tel Aviv, among others.  In book form: Mayn ukrainisher albom, folkslider un dikhter (My Ukrainian album, folk poetry and poets) (Kolomaye, 1937), 47 pp.; Leb un lakh in yisroel (Live and laugh in Israel), humorous sketches (Petaḥ Tikva, 1972), 140 pp., a selection from which appeared in Hebrew as Rak sheela ahat, humoreskot (Just one question, humorous sketches) (Haifa, 1975), 87 pp.; Der eygener klang (My own sound) (Petaḥ Tikva, 1974), 256 pp.  Among his pen names: Avremele der Royfe, Hersh-Ber Volf, and Brider Kleyn.  He died in Petaḥ Tikva.

Sources: Kh. Sh. Kazdan, in Foroys (Warsaw) 7 (1938); Y. Vaynshenker, Poshet mitokh libshaft (Simply out of love) (Montevideo, 1955), pp. 21-30; Yankev Glatshteyn, In tokh genumen (In essence), vol. 2 (Buenos Aires, 1960), pp. 127-29; Itzik Manger, Noente geshtaltn un andere shriftn (Close images and other writings) (New York, 1961), pp. 501-5; Shloyme Bikl, Shrayber fun mayn dor (Writers of my generation) (Tel Aviv, 1965), pp. 105-10; Y. Nirvan (Y. Okrutni), in Idishe tsaytung (Buenos Aires) (April 19, 1972); Kleyn’s “Oyto-portret” (Self-portrait), in his Der eygener klang (My own sound) (Petaḥ Tikva, 1974), pp. 76-89.

Ruvn Goldberg